Six Minus One
by beautifully-rational
Summary: or The Five Times Castiel Saved Dean and the One Time He Didn't. Season five centric. Hurt!Dean and hurt!Cas. HIATUS.
1. First

**A/N: This is just a small little side project where I throw things at different characters and see how much they bleed. In other words, I'm incredibly sadistic and like to torture my fictional characters. As bad as that sounds, I can assure you I'm perfectly fine and shouldn't need to be restrained.**

**This is beta'd by anonymous-unknown who gets a enormous hug for putting up with me and my writing. Hugs all round, woo! Also, thank _you_ for reading my author's notes and not snickering at me. If you have snickered at me I will frown loudly in your direction. Enjoy, lovelies! x**

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**Part 1 – Torture**

**Time:** Early season five

**Includes:** Dean, demons, Castiel, mentions Sam, hurt!Dean

**Length:** 803 words

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**[ONE]**

Dean tugged against his bonds once more, grumbling when they didn't budge. He gave another annoyed yell to the dark and empty room around him, ultimately uttering a heavy sigh. He was stuck; the handcuffs had both his hands trapped above his head, rendering him unable to move from his place beside the pipe system. His lock pick was in his pocket and he didn't tend to go around wearing bobby pins in his hair.

To add to his annoyance, there was currently a nasty cut on his forehead, along with an uncomfortable amount of blood dripping over his right eye. He was pretty certain his nose was broken, too, as well as various other bruised and battered places all over his body from the fight before his predicament.

He had gone to investigate how good the beer was in the local bar while Sammy got a little shut-eye back at the motel they were staying at. Their last job had them tracking down a nest of vamps, and neither of them had gotten any sleep since their third lead two days ago. Sam had collapsed on the nearest bed without a second thought, asleep before he hit the pillow. Dean had covered him over with the quilt and then proceeded to the bar. He hadn't felt tired; he just wanted a drink.

Dean had been in the process of leaving the bar when he got jumped. It had been dark at the time, but the neighborhood was shady anyway (cue vamps), so he suspected nobody had witnessed him get beaten there in the street by five guys, bundled into his own car too stunned to react properly and then promptly knocked out in the backseat. He'd woken up handcuffed to the pipes next him, hurting all over.

There was no sign of the guys who had done it. They had beheaded all the vampires, Dean was sure. And he was still human, as far as he could tell, so that was definitely a plus.

He waited in the silence and the dark a while longer, until finally a door opened across the room. First light penetrated through the doorway, but soon the light was occupied by none other than a man with dead-black eyes. Dean let out a sharp breath, tugging on his handcuffs again.

Said man approached, hands in his pockets. Their strides were almost smug. He stopped two or three paces in front of Dean, looking down at the hunter quizzically.

"Stuck, are we?" he inquired, a small grin creeping across his face. He then crouched, clasping his hands between his legs.

Dean tugged against the cuffs again. "What do you want?" he asked with a lack of preamble.

"To have a little fun." The man responded, his features twisting into a crooked smile. "Nothing wrong with that, is there?" he inquired, tilting his head.

Dean kept a blank face, opting to now ignore the demon in front of him. He looked past the hell-bent creature to the wall opposite. He was reminded of the demon's presence by a sharp pain on his forearm.

He looked to find the source of the pain and discovered it to be the man, though he was now armed with a knife. He was wearing his twisted grin again. The warm blood from the deep wound dripped down Dean's arm and onto his shoulder. The man seemed pleased at this.

"Having fun?" he inquired as he made the second cut, slowly this time, perpendicular to the one he had made before.

Dean hissed in pain as the knife slid across his skin but offered the demon no response. He continued to stare at the opposite wall. He clenched his teeth together, determined not to cry out as the demon made the third cut on his other arm.

"How about now?" he continued to taunt, drawing out each syllable more than necessary.

There was a sudden bright light produced from the door the demon had come from. Said creature turned around just in time to see an un-happy Castiel appear in the doorway.

Immediately, the demon's meat suit emitted the chain of black smoke and the demon was gone. Castiel looked bored at this. He then approached Dean, now looking concerned, and un-did the handcuffs with a click of his fingers.

Dean was grateful for the circulation in his hands again. "Thanks." he told the angel in a grumble. He pressed a hand to the deepest cut, wincing as it spiked the pain more fiercely.

"I will take you back to your motel." Castiel told him, not responding to his expression of gratitude, and then Dean was standing next to Sam's bad.

Castiel gave Dean a little nod and the tiniest hint of a smile from across the bed, and then his rescuer was gone.


	2. Second

_**A/N: Thank you for the review and the four follows! They're all very much appreciated. I hope that those of you who are reading are enjoying. Feedback, comments and queries are welcome; both the positive and the negative. On to the show! x**_

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**Part 2 – Knife**

**Time:** Mid-season five

**Includes: **Dean, Sam, Castiel, demons, hurt!Sam, hurt!Cas

**Length:** 992 words

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**[TWO]**

The fight wasn't going as Dean had expected it to. Sam was out cold across the room, as a result of having been thrown around by the demon he was currently trying to gank. This one had cleverly evaded all their devil's traps around the old building whilst the others hadn't been so lucky. Sam had been in the middle of exorcising the trapped third when the fourth, this one, had come in and put a stop to it.

There had been a total of four demons, two of which had been exorcised, one trapped in the doorway behind Dean and the other currently in front of him, brandishing Ruby's knife, which Sam had dropped when he'd been knocked out.

Dean was armed with a shotgun which he continued to fire at the demon, but the salt rounds weren't slowing it down very much. It was a stalemate. Eventually Dean went for the melee, diving for the demon's legs and tackling it to the ground.

They both wrestled on the ground until Dean got hold of Ruby's knife, pushing it through the demon's throat. The demon's meat suit sparked in a sickly orange before laying still.

Dean pulled himself off the ground, aching from the wrestle, and then went to check on his brother. Sam was coming around as Dean reached him. He had a trail of blood running from the side of his head, along with a dislocated shoulder from the impact on the wall.

Dean popped that back in whilst his brother was half-conscious, but he still expressed his pain regardless.

When Dean was satisfied his brother would be fine for the time being, he turned to finish the exorcism on the final living demon, only to discover it wasn't there. He furrowed his brow, looking around the hall they were currently in, and then approached the devil's trap.

The red spray paint they'd used to draw it had been scrubbed off; someone had let the demon out. Dean growled in the back of his throat. It appeared there were more demons than they'd originally thought, or the hell-bent creatures had coaxed humans into working for them.

He got his answer when there was the sickly sound of a knife piercing skin and a grunt of pain, though it wasn't emitted from him. Dean turned around to see Castiel standing behind him, a knife protruding from his shoulder.

He crumpled, surprising Dean, but also revealing two demons standing behind him. Dean altered his grip on Ruby's knife and then rushed at them both. One he stabbed in the stomach and the other he stabbed in the arm, startling it, and then slit its throat with one fluent movement. Both meat suits collapsed to the floor, sparking orange, dead.

Dean then moved down to Cas, who had managed to pull himself to a sitting position. He was clearly in pain.

"Cas?" The hunter prompted in concern, crouching down in front of the injured angel.

"I will be fine... just –" He gasped in pain as he shifted his injured shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. "Just give me a moment," he got out.

Dean swallowed. "Why can't you heal yourself?" he asked, recalling when they had first properly met; he'd stabbed the angel and he hadn't even blinked.

"Being cut off from heaven... it... it has weakened me greatly." he responded.

Sam appeared as Cas finished. He had his shotgun in hand and was looking around the hallway, apparently searching for demons. He must have heard Dean kill the other two. He sighted Dean and Cas in his examination and then the two dead meat suits not far from them.

He stepped over them and approached, looking concerned. "What happened?" he asked, now looking at Cas.

The angel had his eyes shut. His face wasn't twisted in pain anymore; he appeared to be concentrating.

"Demon got him." Dean explained.

"I believe... I believe I am fine now." Cas voiced then, opening his eyes. He moved his shoulder experimentally and appeared to be satisfied. "The injury has healed." he informed both the Winchesters.

"So you're okay?" Dean inquired, straightening up from a crouch. He offered his hand to Cas, who took it to pull himself to his feet.

"Yes." The angel confirmed.

"Let me see." Sam butted in, putting a hand on Cas's shoulder. The angel seemed irritated by this but he allowed the younger Winchester to touch him anyway. His beige coat was torn from where the knife had entered, allowing Sam to see the skin beneath. "It's scabbed over." he said, looking up at Dean. "Not fully healed." he added.

"I will be _fine_." Cas repeated, pulling away from Sam. "I stopped the bleeding. It doesn't bother me anymore." he said, rotating his shoulder to demonstrate.

"He's cool, Sam." Dean backed up Cas.

Sam looked doubtful but said regardless, "Okay."

The three made to leave the building, Cas still with them. Dean knew the angel didn't do injured very well. At this notion, he saddled up to him. "You took the knife for me." he observed. "Why?" he inquired.

"It was unintentional." Cas claimed, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I sensed demonic activity in the area and went to investigate. You happened to be there and so did the demons." he claimed. "And the knife." he added, moving his shoulder as he finished.

Dean noticed this. "You can come back to the motel, if you want." he suggested. "Sleep works wonders, believe me." he said.

"Angels don't need to sleep." Cas reminded Dean, but the hunter gave him an almost pleading look. "I will be fine, Dean." he said. "I have other matters to tend to." he then claimed as he reached the car, so Sam could hear.

He was gone in a rustle of feathers before either of them could object. Sam and Dean looked at each other, sharing a sigh.

"Damn angels." Dean muttered as he got into the Impala.


	3. Third

**A/N: I bring you an update from the depths of exam and assignment land. Not pleading, but you know, reviews would be absolutely lovely. Enjoy, regardless! x**

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**Part 3 – Gun**

**Time:** Mid-season five

**Includes:** Dean, Sam, Castiel, OC/demon, hurt!Cas

**Length: **2132 words

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**[THREE]**

Dean's phone was ringing. He groggily rolled over in bed so he could fumble for the device on his bedside table to answer it. Eventually his fingers found the phone, so he proceeded to press receive and put the phone to his ear.

"_Dean? The demon – it's Harper._" Sam's voice said immediately; urgently.

"Harper?" Dean questioned, still half-asleep.

"_Are you drunk_?" Sam asked, jumping to conclusions.

He slowly sat up in bed, rubbing his head. "No. Just had a little nap. S'tiring, all this research. Dunno why –" He yawned. "– I had to stay back here and do it." he said.

"_You don't need to research anymore, because it's Harper_." Sam repeated. "_It's definitely demons, and it's definitely her_." he claimed.

Harper, Dean now remembered, was a hunter they had met at a bar. She'd been tracking a nest of vampires in the town over and followed one to a factory in the town Sam and Dean were currently in. They had been tracking demon activity here, courtesy of Cas.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Dean grumbled to his brother.

She'd seemed pretty cool. They'd exchanged numbers after having a drink together and then parted ways, Harper denying their offers to help her track down the vamp.

Sam had followed her back to her motel, just to make sure she got home okay, and now apparently she was the demon they'd been looking for.

"_She saw me across the road_." Sam began to explain as Dean got into the Impala. "_And she's definitely got black eyes_." he added. "_I don't know if the demon was in her all along, or it just hitched a ride because it knew we were following it_." he claimed.

"Does it matter?" Dean grumbled again, now driving away from their motel and towards Harper's. "It's the demon Cas asked us to gank, so we gank it." he said.

"_You actually want to kill her_?" Sam questioned.

"Do you think I _want _to kill her, Sammy?" he returned in a low tone. "We have the exorcism, but that's only if we can corner it." he pointed out. "And Harper's a hunter – the demon's got access to all sorts of weapons in that motel room. We might _have _to kill her before she kills us." he reasoned.

Sam sighed on the other end of the line. "_She knows I'm here_." he said. "_And she hasn't attacked me yet_."

"It knows it's got the higher ground in that motel room." Dean reasoned. "You're not armed heavily, either, and I don't think that demon is looking for a simple kill. It wants to have a little fun." he claimed.

"_No rush, then_." Sam returned with a sigh.

Dean smirked although his brother couldn't see. "I'm turning into the road now." he reported, spotting the van Sam had decided to occupy as he pulled in.

"_I see you_." Sam confirmed, and then promptly hung up.

Dean pulled up next to the van a few seconds later, and both brothers met at the trunk of the Impala. Dean grabbed his shotgun, Ruby's knife and a handheld. Sam grabbed a shotgun and the holy water. They looked at one another, and then nodded.

Dean closed the trunk and then crossed the road to the motel, Sam following. He saw Harper pass the window, her eyes a dark black. He scowled. This demon was gonna get it. Harper was only young and in no way did she deserve to be possessed and killed because of it.

He kicked down the motel door, brandishing the shotgun with both hands. Harper – the demon – was sitting on the bed across the room, examining Harper's nails with a fond expression.

It looked up to see Dean and now Sam, trying hard to look surprised. "Oh! Hello, boys." It greeted, molding Harper's pretty face into a crooked smile. "Nice body, isn't it? I might keep it." It said, still smiling.

"Not gonna happen." Dean returned, cocking the shotgun at it. "Out. Or I shoot." he threatened.

"You really think it'll be that easy?" It mocked, getting to its feet. Dean's shotgun followed suit and he hoped Sam's was, too. "I have a very important job to do here." It claimed. "I thought wearing this," It gestured down to Harper's familiar form. "would make you lay off, but obviously not." It frowned. "You've always been loyal to your angel boyfriend, haven't you, Dean?" It asked in a mocking tone.

"Last chance. Out, or you get it in the chest." Dean again threatened, completely ignoring the demon.

It was then the demon produced a gun from behind Harper's back and pointed it squarely at Dean, smirking. "Who can pull faster, do you think?" It teased, also cocking the gun.

The gun then wavered to Sam, which the demon also smirked at, and then back to Dean. Then there was a rustle of feathers and Castiel appeared beside Dean. The demon jumped at this, now aiming the gun at the angel.

Dean and Sam looked to the familiar trenchcoat, glad for the gain, but the demon took advantage of this opportunity whilst the Winchesters were distracted. It pulled the trigger on Cas, ultimately landing a bullet squarely in his stomach.

As soon as the demon was confident Cas was incapacitated, it left Harper's body in a cacophony of black smoke, exiting through the vent at the foot of the room. Dean watched, momentarily stuck to the spot, but remembered his friend had just been shot as the demon disappeared.

He looked to Cas, who had a hand pressed to his vessel's stomach, and was looking surprised. He then pulled the hand away. It was covered in his blood; Jimmy's blood.

Sam was already there; it appeared he'd reacted immediately. Cas buckled into the younger Winchester's waiting arms, which was when Dean jumped into action.

"Cas?" he almost cried, helping his brother lower the injured angel to the ground.

He remembered what the angel had told him a few months ago; when Dean had landed a knife in Cas's shoulder – '_Being cut off from heaven... it... it has weakened me greatly_.' It also reminded him of when Jimmy had been shot in exactly the same manner when Cas had taken him up as a vessel again after being dragged back to Heaven.

"Cas, buddy?" Dean continued to try to talk him, but it appeared he was in shock at being actually-properly hit by a bullet. "I think he's in shock." he told Sam, who nodded.

Cas seemed incapable of pressing his own two hands to the wound, and so Dean did it for him. He gasped as Dean's hands met his stomach, coming very close to crying out in pain. It made tears come to Dean's eyes, hearing Cas in pain. Because god damnit, he's an angel; angels aren't meant to bleed!

"Castiel?" Sam tried this time as Dean worked on stopping the bleeding. "Castiel, can you hear me?" he asked.

The angel registered at his full name, trying to look at Sam. "Uh?" he managed.

"No, stay still." Dean commanded. Cas stilled. "Can you heal it?" he then asked, but got no response. "Cas?" he asked almost pleadingly, and the angel groaned. "_Cas_? Can you heal it?" he asked again.

"Tired." Cas managed in response, which wasn't what Dean needed to hear right now.

He was freaking bleeding out from underneath Dean's fingertips. He looked down, trying to gather himself, and saw in addition to the red, there was a white glow. He looked at it curiously.

"You can sleep in a minute." Sam told him in a more soothing manner than Dean would have. "Can you heal the bullet wound, Cas?" he asked.

The angel nodded his head slowly, cracking his eyes open to look at Dean, who still had both hands pressed to his stomach. "S'take a m'nute... 'm tired." he articulated.

"No sleeping yet." Sam repeated. He looked and Dean and mouthed, "_Ambulance_?"

Dean shook his head, gesturing to Cas's stomach with his head. "He's freaking glowing." he told his brother aloud, seeing as Cas didn't seem to be understanding much at the moment. "How d'you wanna explain that one to the paramedics?" he asked.

"D'n?" Cas asked suddenly, his voice now a little clear than before. "'m fine now." he told the hunter, attempting to sit up, which for the most part didn't turn out well.

He cried out and fell back down to the motel floor, only to end up coughing up blood. Sam looked alarmed, looking to his brother again.

"Is he breathing?" Dean prompted, and Sam went to check.

"Yeah." he confirmed with a hand in front of Cas's face. "What do we do?" he asked the obvious question.

Dean took his hands away from Cas's stomach, at which the angel shifted, obviously glad for the pressure being relieved from his wound, but it only caused Sam to look even more alarmed, if possible.

"The bleeding's pretty much stopped." Dean assured him, now looking over Cas completely, concern etched onto his face regardless. "I think he healed it." he told him uncertainly.

Cas coughed again but this time no blood came up. Both brothers looked at each other, Sam biting his lip. "Check. Maybe he just scabbed it over like last time." he told Dean.

Dean nodded, brushing back the now-red trenchcoat from Cas's stomach and pulling the shirt out of where it tucked into his trousers. It felt strange to have his hands running over Cas's bare skin. It seemed to surprise Cas more than Dean, for he jerked away when Dean touched his fingers to where the bullet wound was.

"Sorry, Cas, I got cold hands." he told the angel with a little nervous smile. "I just gotta check, okay, man? Then we'll take you somewhere safe." he said.

He examined the wounded area to find Cas hadn't healed it anywhere near completely, although he had appeared to manage to stop it from bleeding as much as it had been. The glowing had also stopped and Dean took that as a good thing.

"Well?" Sam pressed.

"Yeah, it's mostly stopped." Dean confirmed.

"'m fine." Cas protested, again trying to sit up, this time succeeding.

"Take it easy, man." Dean told him, poising to catch him just in case he fell forward.

"Demon?" he asked, looking around the room with bleary eyes.

"It went." Dean responded. "Harper's okay too, I think." he added after a pause, realizing he had forgotten completely about the young hunter still out on the motel floor.

He gestured for Sam to go check on her, before looking at Cas again. "You okay?" he asked.

Cas nodded, pressing a hand to where the bullet had hit him. He pulled it away and it came back red, though the blood was mainly from his coat and shirt. He examined his hand closely; almost with wonder.

"We'll take you back to the motel." Dean vowed. "Get you cleaned up. Can't have you walking around like that." he claimed.

Again Cas nodded. "Are you okay?" he managed a full question, which surprised Dean from two angles.

"Am _I _okay?" he repeated in disbelief. "Dude, I'm not the one who just got a bullet in the stomach." he said.

"I was concerned... the demon may have hurt you." Cas claimed. It was obvious speaking was a struggle for him. "I saw it gain the upper hand... and I thought... I thought I could help." he said.

"By getting yourself _shot_, yeah." Dean said exasperatedly. "And don't you dare say it was better you than me, because man, seriously..." He trailed off, wiping his chin. "I don't want to see you get hurt, okay? This... what if we aren't here to help?" he questioned. "You'd bleed out, dude, and we wouldn't be able to help you." he said.

"I don't wish for you to get hurt either." Cas responded. "And I... I am able to heal myself. You are not." he pointed out.

"Yeah, way to go." Dean responded, as Cas had phrased what he had said in a difficult way. "Come on, buddy, let's get you back to the motel."

Dean maneuvered himself to Cas's side, looping an arm under his armpit as he went. He then heaved him to his feet, earning him a hiss of pain, but the angel staggered upright anyway. Sam came to help as Cas swayed, clinging onto Dean for dear life.

"Harper's okay." Sam told his brother as they helped Cas out to the Impala. "I called an ambulance, just in case. We should get out of here." he suggested.

Dean nodded in agreement. "Good thinking." he agreed.

They set Cas down on the backseat carefully before hopping into the two front seats and taking off, back to the motel.


End file.
